Maybe that song cheered you up if you’re feeling a bit “blue” today, or maybe not. Either way, we’ll talk about how the cold could be worse for you (unless you’re reading this from International Falls, Minnesota) and also about what some fun things are that you could do to “enjoy” the cold.

Wind Chill Warnings Early Monday

First of all, you have to stay safe. The map above shows the wind chill advisories and warnings that were in effect for Sunday night to Monday morning. We’re not just talking cold, we’re talking *dangerous* cold. Wind chill values at -25 to -45 degrees, or colder, in many locations.

This was a video of our own Bryan Karrick and Todd Nelson having some “fun” outside this morning:

Preventing Frost Bite

There are ways to stay safe, and most involve bundling up. Let’s start by talking about what can happen if you *don’t* bundle up…

Frostbite!

That’s not a good thing. Even as a small child, not really knowing what frostbite was and how it occurred, I knew that it wasn’t a good thing. Anything with “bite” as part of the word likely isn’t good (unless you’re talking “bytes” vs. “bites” and are a fan of larger amounts of digital storage!).

Here are some of the stats on frostbite:

Wind Chill Times

How can you prevent frostbite? Well, one easy way is to stay inside in a heated environment… but that is not possible, or even probable, for many folks. So… if you must venture outside into the frozen environment, here are some tips for how to stay warm:

Staying Warm

So there you have it. While you may be able to stay warm knowing this information, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happy… and if you find yourself feeling a bit down today, we’ll talk about why that might be in this next section.

A Discussion Of Blue Monday

You may or may not be a fan of the ’80s rock band, New Order, but you’ve probably heard the song that is in the YouTube video we opened up this blog post with. A classic early ’80s music video and song… at least to some.

Well, there is another scenario related to Blue Monday – and that’s what we’re going to talk about now:

Blue Monday

Today, being the Monday of the last full week of January, is labeled as the most depressing Monday of the year. The most depressing day overall? Read the following graphic to see what that day would be:

Blue Monday

Certainly an interesting batch of statistics. Now, there are two things to consider with this: 1) This is a made-up statistic (we’ll talk about that up next) and 2) If it were a “real” statistic, it would be an average anyhow, so you could slide it around a few days before or after the date to make it match up with real weather patterns. That is at least my personal opinion of a depressing day!

So how did this day get chosen? Well, there is a fairly complicated formula that was developed. It’s based on time after Christmas, the weather outside, the amount of debt you have, and more:

Blue Monday Formula

Now, looking at this formula – keep in mind it is commonly known as a “made-up” formula, and in fact I learned about it via Wikipedia (you can see more information by clicking here).

Are you feeling blue today? You should post a picture of your weather onto our WeatherNation Facebook page and let us know why you’re feeling blue (or hopefully *not* feeling blue!). You can tweet us as well, or send me a tweet as well – to the address in the line below…